Abstract
Myanmar’s political turbulence has provided suitable conditions for the growth of bustling drug production complexes. From opiates to amphetamines, the connection between drugs, conflict and power is a key regional dynamic with implications for its neighbours and beyond. This article discusses some security and socio-economic implications for India due to the explosion of amphetamine trade originating in the Golden Triangle region. Though the North-east has been extensively identified as the main corridor for the passage of Myanmar-origin drugs, this article explores an alternative view by focusing on West Bengal as a particularly vulnerable area as both a destination and transit area for amphetamines. I argue that in the densely populated border areas in West Bengal, amphetamines are being integrated into existing cross-border smuggling routes used for cattle, gold, minerals and illicit pharmaceutical drugs, with regional and national implications.
Introduction
Myanmar’s troubled political landscape has been extensively studied and analysed from numerous perspectives over the decades (Lintner, 2021; Beehner, 2018; Taylor, 2005; Win, 2016). Though the origin and dynamics of the Golden Triangle drug economy are a highly disputed area of scholarship, there is near-unanimous consensus regarding the role of drugs in sustaining and furthering political conflicts (Behera, 2017; Lintner & Black, 2009; Meehan, 2015).
In the past two decades, the profile of drug production underwent a significant change in Myanmar as amphetamines emerged as the main drug produced in the country (McKetin et al., 2008). That said, opiate production in Myanmar has not fallen significantly, and in 2023 Myanmar has been declared the world’s largest producer of poppy due to the sudden fall of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan (Carrillo, 2023).
Amphetamines produced in Myanmar have developed markets in the surrounding region. To its east, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and countries further eastward have reported staggering volumes of amphetamine seizures, 1 which, according to official admissions, represent only a fraction of amphetamines that enter these countries. To the west of Myanmar, Bangladesh has experienced a glut of amphetamines, precipitating a multi-dimensional crisis penetrating all aspects of society. One report estimated the daily trade of amphetamines in Bangladesh at 21 billion in Bangladeshi currency (Mahmud, 2023).
India’s proximity to Myanmar exposes it to a range of security-related issues. These include but are not confined to arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking, influx of immigrants and the use of Myanmar’s soil by armed insurgent groups from India’s North-east region. Strategically, the North-eastern region is widely recognised as the ‘gateway’ to the east, leading to its securitisation. This article presents a complementary view of the Indo-Bangladesh border as an alternative to the North-east for cross-border illicit economic activities by taking up the problematic issue of drug trafficking.
Methodology and Structure
This article intends to discuss trafficking routes, socio-economic dynamics and their security implications brought about by Myanmar-origin amphetamines in the eastern part of India. While the literature on the impact of Myanmar’s political and economic conditions on India’s North-eastern region is fairly extensive, no scholarly work has delved into the specific issue of amphetamines produced in the Golden Triangle. Furthermore, scholarly attention has been largely focused on the North-eastern states. This article intends to contribute to the field by highlighting the relevance of the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal in amphetamine trafficking.
Empirically, it brings primary information sourced from informal and unstructured interviews held between October 2018 and August 2019 in Kolkata, Siliguri and North 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal and Guwahati in Assam. In addition to interviews, the collation of scattered news articles, which by themselves do not present an intelligible picture, formed a major aspect. Existing scholarly literature was useful in reviewing the social, economic, cultural and political factors that have contributed to the deep proliferation of amphetamines in Bangladesh and comparing these with factors present and operative in the eastern part of India.
The article is divided into four sections. The first section provides a brief outline of the nexus between politics and drugs in Myanmar. The second section enumerates the existing routes of amphetamines trafficking in the North-eastern regions of India. The third section explores the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal as a vulnerable area for the trafficking of amphetamines and suggests that it is serving as an alternative route to the North-eastern corridor for the trafficking of amphetamines. The fourth section presents some security concerns for India, particularly the region adjacent to the border, by drawing from dynamics in Bangladesh in light of shared economic and socio-cultural factors.
Research Questions
In the existing literature and in popular sources, the North-eastern region has been commonly identified as the most affected and most-used transit corridor for Myanmar-origin amphetamines. Mizoram and Nagaland share borders with Myanmar, and the border in Mizoram has been identified as a particularly vulnerable area for smuggling and trafficking of illicit goods. For instance, Archana Upadhyay in her book explores the geographical vulnerability of the North-east region to the influx of small arms, drugs and human trafficking from India’s troubled eastern neighbourhood (Upadhyay, 2009). N. K. Singh, in his recent study on cheap goods dumping and drug trafficking through Myanmar, has assessed their impact on Manipur (Singh, 2022). In general, North-eastern region has received sustained scholarly attention with respect to traditional and non-traditional security challenges.
In contrast, smuggling routes through the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal have been relatively under-researched as a potential facilitator for cross-border illicit activities, despite the long and porous nature of the border shared by West Bengal with Bangladesh. Taking into consideration the existing dynamics of illicit activities and growing reports of amphetamines seizures in the middle and southern districts of West Bengal contiguous with Bangladesh, this inquiry was undertaken to ascertain the nature and importance of this particular route as an alternative to the North-east region.
This article seeks to answer the questions: What is the viability and significance of the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal for the recent spurt in Myanmar-origin amphetamine trafficking? What are the security and socio-economic implications arising from the influx of amphetamines?
Politics and Drugs in the Golden Triangle
Myanmar has undergone significant political transitions in the recent past. In 2008, a new constitution was floated, which was adopted after a referendum in 2011. It created a bicameral legislature with reserved seats for the military and devolved limited power to a civilian government though the military retained key ministries of home, border affairs and defence. In the national elections of 2015, the National League for Democracy (NLD) formed the government with the internationally renowned Aung San Suu Kyi, barred from the office of President, taking the official position of State Counsellor. The national election of 2020, in which the NLD retained power, was marred by accusations of rigging and fraud by the army against the ruling party. A coup in February 2021 returned the army to power. The State Administration Council (SAC) led by General Min Aung Hlaing has controlled the central government since.
The coup and return of military rule led to widespread condemnation and diplomatic isolation of Myanmar. It has faced boycotts and sanctions from the Western bloc. The powerful regional group Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) made diplomatic interaction conditional upon the ruling SAC’s adherence to the ‘Five-Point Agenda’ (Shamsudin & Nirmala, 2021). Two and a half years after the coup, ASEAN collective resolve appears to have fractured somewhat, as individual members of the ASEAN have expressed interest in restoring diplomatic relations (France24, 2023). Though China has extensive contacts with the military leadership and brokered a ceasefire with an alliance with armed groups, its role has been discussed in conflicting and contradictory ways. India has maintained a cautious approach, rarely issuing public advice to the military government to restore democracy.
These transitions appear to have had minimal effect on the production and trafficking of drugs, as the military government has pursued a policy of co-opting powerful ethnic militia figures, many of them closely associated with drugs, in what has been described as ‘ceasefire capitalism’: the policy of co-opting enemies of the state with economic incentives in exchange of abandoning armed struggle (Yue, 2016).
Opium production in the Golden Triangle region experienced a downward trend from 1998 to 2005, before rising moderately until 2010 (UNODC, 2011). The upward trend reached its peak in 2013, before experiencing a continuous fall in 2021. However, in 2023, a steep rise that yielded the highest quantity of production in the last 25 years combined with the prohibition on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan made Myanmar the biggest global opiates producer (UNODC, 2023). The downward trend and resurgence of opiate production have been accompanied by the emergence of large-scale amphetamine production in Myanmar. Many erstwhile opiate production units and refineries switched from opiates to amphetamines. Myanmar has become associated with the production of high-quality concentrated crystal methamphetamine popularly called ‘ice’ and coffee-mixed low-costing ‘yaba’ 2 tablets.
Much of the drug production, from poppy farming and processing and the production of amphetamines, has been historically concentrated in the highland northern and north-eastern regions of Myanmar. Many of these areas are controlled by autonomous ethnic militias either in alliance with or involved in political–military conflict with the state and army of Myanmar. Some of the territories controlled by such ethnic militias have regularly figured as major drug-producing hotspots. Several ‘resistance’ militia groups, such as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in the Kokang region and the Arakan Army, have been alleged to fund their military activities through a combination of illicit economic activities that include drug trafficking. As noted by a prominent study carried out by the International Crisis Group:
The illicit economy allows armed groups to generate revenue from taxation or extortion, helping to fund and sustain Myanmar’s seventy-year-old civil war. The immense profitability of the drug trade attracts transnational criminal organisations and promotes corruption that deepens the grievances of ethnic minority communities that underpin the civil war. That civil war in turn provides justification for the Tatmadaw’s military strategy, creating the conditions for a corrosive political economy dominated by armed actors operating with impunity. (International Crisis Group, 2019)
However, since the coup in 2021, some reports have indicated that areas not known previously for drug production have begun to engage in the illicit activity. It appears political instability, economic degradation and rampant unemployment are making people turn to a range of illicit activities. Certain reports indicate area under poppy cultivation has increased by 100,000 acres since the coup, making Myanmar the biggest opiate-producing state in the world (Madureira, 2024). Amphetamine production has surged as well. Significant price drops have been observed in neighbouring countries, indicating increased production and supply (McCready, 2023). Connection of political and military leaders with the drug trade provides a strong political motive for its continuation (Bhattacharyya, 2023). In certain cases, this line has been further blurred by political–military leaders foraying into the drug business and noted drug traffickers entering politics. 3
Due to the high values generated by and the reliance of leaders on the drug economy, a relatively high degree of safety and freedom is available to drug producers and traffickers, despite the fact that deep links between certain armed groups and drug trafficking have subjected drug trafficking operations to attacks by rival armed groups. Drug producers, traffickers and financiers acquire influence by interacting and becoming close with the political and military leadership of a given area. In certain cases, the acquisition of influence is deliberately pursued by making investments in political and military groups. In this sense, the long-standing conflict in Myanmar has facilitated the drug economy and helped it become gigantic in scope.
In the last two decades, drug producers in Myanmar began shifting from opiates to amphetamines, signalling a significant transition in the country’s drug economy. Amphetamines afforded certain important advantages in comparison with opiates. First, unlike opiates, which require the cultivation and harvesting of poppy as the first step, the production of amphetamines involves an entirely indoor, chemical process that does not require crop cultivation as the first step, freeing it from uncertainties of weather and risk of detection and destruction. Second, amphetamines are easier to manufacture as the number of precursor chemicals required are fewer and the processes involved are comparatively simpler than the manufacture of opiates like heroin. Third, opiates attract considerably fewer users due to their negative connotations, unlike amphetamines, which are not associated with danger and, therefore, attract a larger number of users. Fourth, while opiates are depressants that hinder users from activity and work, amphetamines generate energy and strength, helping users overcome stress and fatigue. This last feature has made amphetamines attractive to working populations and students, resulting in the creation of much bigger user bases than opiates.
The enmeshing of politics, war and the drug economy has created opportunities for organised crime groups in South-East and East Asia, as well as further afield from Australia and even Western countries. For instance, Hong Kong has long been identified as the gateway for interactions between large drug-trafficking organisations from the western and eastern hemispheres (Felbab-Brown, 2022). The economics of such collaborations stems from the search for cheap and reliable sources of ‘precursor’ chemicals required to manufacture popular drugs of abuse and the corresponding search for markets that offer higher profit margins through the supply of drugs sold far from their centres of production.
The ‘Yaba’ Epidemic
Amphetamines are stimulant drugs that affect the central nervous system. Users report a burst of energy, upliftment of mood, overcoming fatigue, increased vigilance and sleeplessness. It causes rapid tolerance and strong withdrawal effects. Long-term effects of amphetamine use are associated with neurotoxicity, nervous system degeneration, cognitive impairment and increased risk of psychosis and paranoia (Cadet & Kasanova, 2009). A key sociological characteristic of amphetamines is that in areas where its use has flourished, it has successfully overcome socio-economic differences by attracting diverse user groups: from users belonging to the working classes such as construction, factory workers, transport workers to students, professionals, businessmen, ordinary party-goers and the unemployed (Ahad et al., 2017).
Drugs originating in Myanmar are flowing both eastwards and westwards. Thailand, lying to Myanmar’s south and deeply entrenched in the regional drug trafficking dynamics, has remained the most affected country recording some of the largest seizures of amphetamines ever made (Reuters, 2023). Laos, the country lying to Myanmar’s east and on the route to East Asia, has reported seizure of 32,000 kg of amphetamines in the past three years (The Star, 2023).
To the west of Myanmar, a variety of amphetamines catering to different socio-economic groups, are dominating drug markets in South Asia. The rapid penetration of amphetamines in Bangladesh, in particular the ‘yaba’ variant, has been described by commentators as a ‘rising concern’ (Fattah, 2012) and a ‘consequence of social demoralisation’ (Mohiuddin, 2019).
A study carried out in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar district found an entire ecosystem built around ‘yaba’ (Rezvi, 2019), consisting of importers bringing it from Myanmar and handing it over to wholesalers, who become nodal points for distribution to retail sellers. The study found diverse and apparently unconnected persons such as hotel staff, bus and auto-rickshaw drivers serving as the final distributers to users. Many of those involved in the distribution chain were long-time users. Among the primary factors facilitating the rapid growth of amphetamine use in Bangladesh, the study listed peer influence, curiosity, extra power and potency generated by yaba consumption, and the strategic decision of yaba sellers to target youth and students.
The increased availability of amphetamines has precipitated a sharp fall in prices in the region surrounding Myanmar. This trend has been observed in Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh. Though seizures of amphetamines may not be a completely accurate representation of the volume of amphetamines entering a country, seizure figures nonetheless provide a rough idea. A comparison of seizures of amphetamines in Bangladesh over the years can help illustrate the speed and rapidity with which amphetamines became an important drug in Bangladesh. In 2009, about 150,000 yaba tablets were seized in Bangladesh. In 2013, approximately 3 million tablets were seized. In 2016, a 10-fold increase was noted with total seizures at approximately 30 million tablets. A report from 2021 estimated approximately 200,000 ‘yaba’ tablets are consumed daily in Bangladesh. That gives the figure of 7.3 billion ‘yaba’ tablets consumed annually.
A significant reason for the popularity gained by amphetamines is its low price. The cost of ‘yaba’ variant of amphetamines varies due to several factors, primary among them geographical location: It is available at considerably cheaper prices at places in or around long-established smuggling routes. Increasing availability of the drug drives the price down. The rapid rate of increase in the volume of amphetamines availability and the consequent spread of consumption within a relatively short period of time contributed to the ‘epidemic’ analogy. Shifting routes and the emergence of new cross-border entry points are important methods to beat security measures. Another important factor is its stimulant effect: Termed ‘poor man’s cocaine’, it provides a short burst of nervous and physical stimulation that helps.
The West Bengal Borderland and Amphetamines Trafficking
This section will discuss certain lacunae in prevalent notions with respect to the spatial dynamics of Myanmar-origin amphetamines. Specifically, the North-east region of India has been widely held as the entry-point for Myanmar-origin drugs destined for Bangladesh and India. While this is an accurate representation, the India–Bangladesh border stretching the eastern part of West Bengal has not been studied as a facilitator of cross-border amphetamine trafficking, despite considerable seizures of amphetamines in the border districts of West Bengal associated with cross-border smuggling.
Amphetamines enter India predominantly through the North-eastern corridor. Four states—Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur—share borders with Myanmar. In Mizoram, amphetamines (along with other illicit items) enter Champhai district which is contiguous with Myanmar. The first route out of Mizoram goes through Aizawl and Kolasib districts to enter Assam. The second route transits through Mamit district and enters Tripura. Seizures of amphetamines in Assam, which have been frequent and often involve huge quantities, indicate a sizeable trade. Apart from its local market, Assam serves as a transit for the entry of amphetamines into the mainland through the Siliguri and into Bangladesh through its lower districts. Tripura shares a long border with Bangladesh, which also serves as a route into Bangladesh. The North-eastern corridor is the main route for amphetamine trafficking from Myanmar at present. However, this is not the only route for amphetamines into India.
India and Bangladesh share an international border of 4,096 km (2,545 miles). West Bengal has the largest share of the international border at 2,217 km (1,378 miles). The border touches West Bengal’s 9 out of 16 districts: Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar (North) Dinajpur, Dakshin (South) Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24 Parganas. Border areas in the state are more or less continuously and densely settled. Economic and cultural factors permeate close connections between border area populations. Hundreds of trucks cross the border every day from both sides. Culturally, border crossings are not seen as abnormal, and local informal economic exchanges thrive in these areas (Banerjee & Chen, 2013).
Cross-border smuggling of cattle, gold, sand, stone, brick and coal thrive in several border areas of West Bengal. Due to the high demand for cattle for meat and animal products in Bangladesh, illegal cattle smuggling takes place from the Indian side of the border. The smuggling of pharmaceutical products, such as the cough syrup phensedyl, takes place from the Indian side to the Bangladeshi side, with smugglers using increasingly innovative methods to bypass surveillance by Border Security Force (BSF) (Thakur, 2023). Smuggling of other items such as gold and fake Indian currency notes (FICN) has recorded an uptick in the recent past (Singh, 2023). The porous border is also used by extremist groups from Bangladesh to infiltrate agents with the aim of radicalising the population on the Indian side (Mondal, 2022). Thus, extensive networks of illegal activities exist in the border area in West Bengal.
The recent influx of amphetamines into West Bengal has to be seen in the context of existing cross-border smuggling networks and the rapid increase in the volumes of the drug present and circulating within Bangladesh. In West Bengal, seizures of amphetamines, particularly of the ‘yaba’ variety, have been frequently reported in the recent past—for instance, from Siliguri (ANI, 2022), Kolkata (Hindustan Times, 2021), Malda (Sarkar, 2022) and Murshidabad (Paul, 2022). The largest single haul of amphetamines in West Bengal was made in Kolkata in 2020 when 40 kg of ‘yaba’, valued at ₹11 crores, was seized from a centrally located area in the city (The Telegraph, 2020).
In many cases, amphetamines are making their way into West Bengal through the North-eastern route. However, the incidence of amphetamine seizures reveals a pattern of more frequent seizures in the middle districts—particularly North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Malda and Murshidabad—which are associated with the highest volumes of cross-border smuggling. In several cases, ‘yaba’ was seized along with FICN, a fixture in the Indo-Bangladesh smuggling routes in the state. Interviews conducted with auto-rickshaw drivers, small traders and hospitality sector employees in the North 24 Parganas, the hotspot of cross-border cattle and pharmaceutical products smuggling, threw up interesting information pertaining to amphetamines. One interviewee related to this researcher that ‘lozenge’-like substances were available for purchase at a few locations and that, though not well known, it was a hit with adventurous youngsters fond of the ‘high’ feeling it gave. Another interviewee took this researcher to isolated spots on the river bank (the other bank is Bangladeshi territory) which are used for crossing the river with smuggled cattle. He said multiple items are smuggled and did not reject the possibility of ‘yaba’ being one among them. 4
Cases that subsequently came to light have proven this suggestion correct, as in the case where West Bengali migrants to Bengaluru played the conduit role in taking ‘yaba’ there (Times of India, 2019). As West Bengal is a prominent hub of the east with road, rail and air connectivity with other parts of India, it is not surprising that it is playing an important role in the distribution of a drug with origins to the east.
This researcher was able to see amphetamine pills when interviewing a group of three disco enthusiasts in Kolkata. When the interview was conducted in December 2018, they were aged between 20 and 22. The pills came in different colours with variety of engravings on one side. The interviewees related they consume the pills, sometimes in combination with alcohol, because they feel energetic and can keep dancing for many hours without getting fatigued. 5 These interviewees believed ‘yaba’ tablets were coming in from Bangladesh. Though this cannot be advanced as proof, it nonetheless revealed the association of ‘yaba’ with Bangladesh among users.
Contextual Similarities: Bangladesh a Forerunner for India?
The question arises as to why the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal has not received more attention for security-related issues among which amphetamines are the latest component. Two inter-connected reasons can be cited: the first relates to the proximity of the North-east to the epicentre of amphetamine production in the Golden Triangle while West Bengal and the Indo-Bangladesh border appear far removed; the second is the low degree of securitisation of the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal in comparison with North-eastern states, not only with respect to drugs but in general.
In contrast to the sharp opposition to illegal immigration from Bangladesh in the North-eastern states, West Bengal is characterised by what has been described as a ‘homo-ethnic climate’ (Datta et al., 2004). Unlike West Bengal, the North-eastern states share anxieties about the possibility of demographic change and are sensitive to socio-cultural threats represented by illegal immigration. Political parties in West Bengal have given political protection to illegal migrants, providing them shelter, protection from detection and arranged counterfeit identity documents to increase voter base. For all practical purposes, therefore, an unknown number of illegal migrants have turned into citizens and it would be near impossible to determine who these migrants are.
The Indo-Bangladesh border in the North-eastern states is characterised by ever-intensifying securitisation and ever-greater demand of greater securitisation as a political theme. Quite the contrary, the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal suffers from low securitisation and serves as one of the main historical causes for unchecked illegal immigration from Bangladesh, which poses a sharp problem precisely because the issue has not been adequately securitised (Kumar, 2010).
It has been observed in South-east Asia and Bangladesh that amphetamines rapidly spread in the population and assumed proportions of an ‘epidemic’. To expand the scope of discussion, conditions and factors that enabled the growth of amphetamine consumption in Bangladesh can be compared with those in West Bengal and India in general to pose the question of the relevance of amphetamines in India.
Though no statistical study has been conducted yet, from the incidence of news reports on yaba seizures, it can be surmised that geographical proximity plays a key role in making the eastern part of India most vulnerable to amphetamines. Apart from the geographical factor, cultural factors can reinforce this trend as well. Ingestion of psychoactive substances is a traditional pastime in several parts of eastern India, as people have long been accustomed to chewing betel nuts. Thus, substances that are ingested are not alien in large parts of India. This includes the use of tablets and pills.
The other enabling factor is cost. When the field research was conducted, ‘yaba’ tablets were available between ₹600 and ₹1,000 for a single piece in Bangladesh. At the present rate of conversion, one ‘yaba’ tablet is available in Bangladesh for the equivalent of ₹150–250 in Indian currency. 6 Such a price category can make ‘yaba’ extremely attractive to several groups of potential users who would not be able to afford high-priced drugs. At further distances, the price is likely to rise, though regularisation of trafficking can successfully knock down prices to levels that would be considered attractive by larger segments of the potential user base. At any rate, it is likely to be cheaper in eastern regions of India than in southern or western regions. But given the high volume of yaba tablets capable of being transported by a single carrier in a single journey, prices can be economised to suit the purchasing power capabilities of lower socio-economic classes.
Some consideration must also be given to the prospect of growth of indigenous production when a drug has developed a sizeable user base. When drugs coming from external sources develop a large user base, financial incentives are created for potential domestic producers. Moreover, domestic production enjoys important advantages, such as bypassing the risks of long-distance smuggling and low prices. Given precursor chemicals needed to produce amphetamines are abundantly available in India, domestic production would not be far-fetched. Again, Bangladesh offers important lessons, as small clandestine yaba-synthesising factories have been discovered, clearly established with the motive of profiteering from high domestic demand (The Daily Star, 2022).
Certain benefits accrue from the physical attributes of amphetamines as well. ‘Yaba’ tablets and methamphetamine ‘ice’ are easier objects to smuggle than cattle and coal. ‘Yaba’ tablets are small and light, and many thousands of these can be transported in a backpack. Bigger seizures of ‘yaba’ in boats or trucks have usually yielded many lakhs of these tablets. Large consignments can be easily hidden among legitimate goods crossing the border. These factors decrease the risk associated with smuggling and increase the competitive potential of ‘yaba’. It is perhaps due to this reason, combined with greater vigilance on the outflow of cattle and coal, that ‘yaba’ has rapidly emerged as a preference for smugglers.
The role of Rohingya refugees in smuggling amphetamines from Myanmar to Bangladesh has come to light, complicating an already serious security challenge. Bangladeshi security agencies conduct regular raids at Rohingya refugee camps for exercising a check on criminal and militant activities. The isolation of the camps and the absence of outsiders are favourable factors influencing their use as storage points for amphetamines. 7 The nexus between drug trafficking and militancy was illustrated during an operation conducted by Bangladesh’s military intelligence. In November 2022, during a raid at a camp in Cox’s Bazaar to capture drugs, the team was attacked by members of the Arakan Rohingya Solidary Army (ARSA), a proscribed terrorist group, resulting in the death of a military officer, for which 31 ARSA members have been charged with murder. Among them was the chief of ARSA Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi (Barron’s, 27 November 2022).
One arena where both security and socio-cultural aspects meet is the increasing politicisation of drugs in Bangladesh. While the involvement of prominent politicians and political parties in the drug trade was a soft murmur a few years ago, these linkages have attained a dark shade of reality with the implication of political activists belonging to leading parties in the drug trade (Hassan, 2023). 8 It has brought to the fore issues of abuse of power for personal enrichment and the possibility of political financing through illicit activities.
The links between illicit finances, proceeds from the drug trade, political finances and elections-related expenditure are likely to strengthen and emerge as an important theme. These connections are gaining ground in India, where seizures of illicit money, alcohol and drugs during election campaigns have attained new and unprecedented levels in the recent past (Press Trust of India, 2023). It is pertinent to note that leading politicians in West Bengal have been implicated or are presently being investigated for their connections with cross-border cattle, gold, coal and mineral smuggling (Banerjee, 2022).
Conclusion
This article attempted to present an alternative view to the almost exclusive emphasis on the North-eastern states as the route for the influx of Myanmar-origin drugs, among which amphetamines are a relatively new addition, into India. Amphetamines entering India go to either Bangladesh or the Indian mainland through Assam or Tripura. While these remain the main routes for amphetamines entering India, the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal is an important alternative that has not received sustained attention despite considerable evidence.
The influx of ‘yaba’ tablets into Bangladesh rose exponentially in the past decade, precipitating a rapid rise in consumption rates. Despite a heavy-handed campaign to address the situation, amphetamines have continued to overwhelm Bangladesh. Further, amphetamine trafficking has become a major source of illicit finances and entered the political arena.
Albeit far more concealed and dissonant, amphetamines originating in Myanmar are gradually built up a presence in India as well. The incidence of amphetamine use is higher in North-eastern and Eastern regions of India due to the proximity of these regions to their location of origin and transportation routes. However, amphetamines distinctly bearing the marks of Golden Triangle origin have been discovered in other parts of India. After the Bangladesh government initiated a crackdown on drugs in 2018, the Indian North-eastern states emerged as alternative routes for drugs to enter Bangladesh. Given the extensive cross-border smuggling networks in West Bengal, it can emerge as a viable route for drug smuggling.
Lastly, the factors that contributed to the amphetamines being so popular and precipitated a multi-dimensional crisis in Bangladesh are present and operative in India as well, namely, existing smuggling routes, similar socio-economic profiles, a large potential user base and affordability. The combination of these factors suggests that amphetamines can quickly gain ground in different parts of India and precipitate crises of a type similar to those facing Bangladesh and South-east Asian countries due to the unceasing flow emanating from Myanmar.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author has no conflict of interest and this material has not been published elsewhere.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency from the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.